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UPI Horse Racing Weekend Preview

By Robert Kieckhefer, UPI Racing Writer
Reynaldothewizard wins Thursday's renewal of the Dubawi Stakes at Meydan in Dubai -- his third straight victory in the event and a prep for the Golden Shaheen on World Cup night. (DRC/Andrew Watkins)
Reynaldothewizard wins Thursday's renewal of the Dubawi Stakes at Meydan in Dubai -- his third straight victory in the event and a prep for the Golden Shaheen on World Cup night. (DRC/Andrew Watkins)

Oaklawn Park's important Arkansas Derby prep series fires up this weekend as the American racing season shifts into second gear.

Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct and waterlogged Santa Anita all have graded stakes on tap through the Monday celebration of Presidents Day.

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Internationally, the second Dubai World Cup Carnival meeting Thursday at Meydan found the venerable Reynaldothewizard defying age to win the Dubawi Stakes for the third straight year.

Let's get right to it before we age any further:

The Road to the Roses

Monday's $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park kicks off the lucrative and usually productive Arkansas Derby program. Eight are set for the 1-mile test.

Warrior's Club, a Warrior's Reward colt, and Uncontested, by Tiz Wonderful, finished third and fourth, respectively, in the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs in November. Romeo O Romeo, an Ontario-bred, finished last in that race in his first effort on anything other than an all-weather track and gets another chance here.

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Several of the others have run well and will have a chance to move up with a good showing in the Smarty Jones.

Kentucky Oaks preps

Libby's Tail steps down a rung in class from the graded stakes that made up most of her 2-year-old campaign to contest Sunday's $100,000 Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct, 1 1/16 miles on the inner track. The Tiz Wonderful filly, trained by Rudy Rodriguez, made her best showing with a second-place finish in the Grade I Frizette at Belmont Park last fall.

Todd Pletcher will send out two for the Busanda-- Sand Shark and No Sweat. Lockdown, a Juddmonte Farms filly trained by Bill Mott, comes off her maiden win.

Saturday's $100,000 Ruthless at Aqueduct is run at 6 furlongs, casting doubt on its role as a prep for Oaks-bound fillies. Nonetheless, the field of seven is well matched, with Yorkiepoo Princess and Waves of Blue listed as narrow morning-line favorites.

Oaklawn Park

Welcome back to the Hot Springs track, whose arrival on the scene testifies winter won't last too much longer. Probably.

Friday's $125,000 Fifth Season Stakes drew 10 without a clear favorite. Look to Smack Smack, Inside Straight, Code West, Pinson, Chief of Staff and Domain's Rep -- all at single-digit odds on the morning line. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas brings back Mr. Z, who briefly was a Triple Crown contender two years ago.

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Trivia question: How many races has Mr. Z won? Answer: Two -- his career bow at Churchill Downs in 2014 and the Ohio Derby the following year. The shortage of winning efforts has not prevented him from amassing $1,176,378 in earnings.

Saturday's $125,000 Pippin Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares drew one of those "you pick 'em" fields with only one of the six entrants offered at more than single digits on the morning line. That said, the 8-5 favorite, Illinois-bred Streamline, ran well here in last season's graded stakes and was last seen finishing second in the Grade II Falls City Handicap in Louisville in November.

Santa Anita

Thursday's racing was washed out by the continuing round of rain and storms across Southern California and the mountain west. Better weather is in prospect.

Vale Dori, who rounded into a graded stakes winner at the end of last year's campaign, tops a field of five fillies and mares seet for Saturday's $200,000 Grade II La Canada Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. The Argentine-bred daughter of Asiatic Boy was second in last year's UAE Oaks and fourth in the UAE Derby. She wound up the season with a win in the Grade I Bayakoa at Del Mar. Wild at Heart, a well-beaten second in the Bayakoa, is back for this, too.

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Monday's holiday feature, the $100,000 Grade III Megahertz Stakes for fillies and mares, is 1 mile on the grass.

Gulfstream Park

Three graded stakes grace the Saturday program, two on the grass and one on the brown track.

The $200,000 Grade II Fort Lauderdale, 1 1/16 miles on the turf, has a very competitive cast of 12. Half of them return from races in which they finished first or second. Luke's Alley won the Grade I Gulfstream Park Turf handicap last February but has made only one start since then -- an even effort to finish fifth on the Woodbine all-weather course in November. Divisidero won the Grade I Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Derby weekend 2016, then finished a close fifth in the Grade I Manhattan five weeks later and hasn't been seen from then till now.

Heart to Heart is 3-for-3 over the local turf and the inside draw should suit his front-running style in the Fort Lauderdale. Heart to Heart also has graded stakes wins at Monmouth Park, Churchill Downs, and Belmont Park. Rose Brier was set down from first to second in the Grade III Tropical Turf Handicap in his last outing but seldom misses the frame. Take a long look at the Chad Brown-trained Almanaar.

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The $150,000 Grade III Marshua's River for fillies and mares, 1 1/16 miles on the turf, has a nice cast including last year's winner, Sandiva. The 6-year-old mare has never missed the top three in six starts over the Gulfstream greensward. Rivals include fellow Irish-breds Elusive Million and Sea Coast as well as multiple graded stakes winner Isabella Sings.

The $150,000 Grade III Hal's Hope at 1 mile on the main track has nine prospective starters, many of them making a return from layoffs. Several also are taking a class jump, further complicating matters for the handicappers.

Aqueduct

Wonder Gal, Always On My Mind and Highway Star present a trio of top-shelf possibilities among five entered for Friday's $100,000 Ladies Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the inner track. Highway Star comes off a victory in last month's Grade III Go For Wand Handicap.

Royal Posse is the 7-5 morning-line pick for Saturday's $125,000 Jazil Stakes at 1 mile, 70 yards over the inner track. The 6-year-old Posse gelding has a gold-plated record of 15 straight exacta finishes, incuding a runner-up showing in this event last year. Bay of Plenty arguably gets a class break and is the second pick on the morning line.

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Monday, it's $125,000 Grade III Toboggan Stakes at 6 furlongs over the inner track.

Otherwise:

Turf Paradise in Arizona has the $75,000 Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile on turf on Saturday.

Laurel Park features a pair of 6-furlongs sprints on Saturday -- the Fire Plug and, for fillies and mares, the What a Summer Stakes.

Last week's postponed Delta Downs stakes for Louisiana-bred 3-year-olds are rescheduled for Friday and Saturday nights.

Over the waves:

Dubai

Reynaldothewizard, after a relentless stretch pursuit, got home first by 1/2 length in Thursday's Dubawi Stakes at Meydan -- the third straight year the 11-year-old has won this event.

Muarrab, winner of the 2016 Dubai Golden Shaheen, was second after leading up to the 100 meters mark. American import Wild Dude, a multiple graded stakes winner in his homeland and last seen winning the Grade II Kona Gold Stakes at Santa Anita last March, was another 4 1/4 lengths in arrears in third.

Trainer Satish Seemar said Reynaldothewizard will have one more prep on Super Saturday, then try to regain the Golden Shaheen title he won in 2013.

"I feel that this could have been his best race," the trainer said. "I know he's a Group 1 winner. But he showed today that he still really wants to win."

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Winning rider Richard Mullen noted the quick early pace made by Muarrab.

"They went quick. But I was able to stay within striking distance and, once we hit the straight, I always knew that I would find plenty. He's the horse of a lifetime," Mullen said.

The win cemented a hat trick for Zabeel Stables, which also sent out North America and Town's History. The outcome also promises a juicy renewal of the Shaheen.

Speaking of visitors, British invaders took the first three placings in Thursday's Mina Rasheed at 1,600 meters on the grass. The Marco Botti-trained Fanciful Angel was first, trailed by Hors De Combat and Belgian Bill. Fanciful Angel was outrun early but made a bold outside move early in the stretch run to seal the victory.

Red Galileo scored a narrow win in the 2,800-meters Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal, holding on by a neck over Carbon Dating to give the Godolpin team a victory on the card.

England

Pretend came from last to first in Wednesday's feature over the Kempton Park all-weather course, defeating Gentlemen by 1 1/2 lengths. Spring Loaded was third. Pretend, a 6-year-old Invincible Spirit gelding, is owned by Godolphin and trained by Charlie Appleby. He was making his first start since last July and now has seven wins from 11 starts on all-weather surfaces. He was victorious in the 2015 All-Weather Championships finals, taking the sprint feature for older horses.

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Doc Sportello also came from last to first Thursday over the Newcastle Tapeta track to take the 5-furlongs feature and earn a guaranteed spot in the Good Friday All-Weather Championship finals. The 5-year-old, with Robert Winston up, started his move 2 furlongs out, made the lead with a furlong to go and finished a short head in front of Justice Good. Dougan was third. Trainer Michael Herrington claimed Doc Sportello for 10,000 pounds in December.

"He has got to race a bit to give him some more experience so we will probably give him a run around Lingfield before the final," Herrington said.

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